


The Bull-headed Knight and the Royal Valkrie

by DerpReader545



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Blushing, Canon Compliant, Canon Related, Canon-Typical Behavior, Childhood Trauma, During Canon, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, F/M, Fantasy, Fluff, Frustration, Injury, Magic, Major Character Injury, Manga & Anime, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:21:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24012763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DerpReader545/pseuds/DerpReader545
Summary: During the six month training period in the Heart Kingdom skipped over in the Manga. Asta is having difficulty calling forth the newfound abilities within his swords. With the grave, looming threat that awaits them that is the Devils and the Dark Triad of the Spade Kingdom, Asta is starting to feel the pressure put on him. The fate of the world depends on the outcome. He and a select group of his fellow Magic Knights, all whom he regards are friends, need to ready themselves as much as possible to face such a dangerous foe.As he is facing the same daunting roadblock he has known his whole life, not having any magic. Asta receives encouragement from Noelle. Noelle sees the start of the same frustration she went through with her trauma-filled past. Having Asta to thank for emerging from that trauma, Noelle feels the need to return the favor. Who knows? He may notice the romantic inclination Noelle has towards him. Or maybe not.Needless to say, eventual romance ensues.
Relationships: Asta & Noelle Silva, Asta/Noelle Silva
Comments: 12
Kudos: 107





	1. Prologue:The challenges at the Heart Kingdom

**Author's Note:**

> ***Warning, this Fanfiction's setting is based off canon elements and summarizes most of Black Clover's story as of the time of this writing. If you haven't read or watched to at least chapter 228 or episode 130 (Or you don't care) Beware!***
> 
> There is planned mature content in the future, will update the rating when the work gets to that point.
> 
> Imported from Wattpad, but plan to primarily use AO3.

Inside one of the numerous forests within the Heart Kingdom, frustrated sounds of a rather loud, young magic knight followed by the occasional clang of a sword could be heard from a considerable distance. In the forest clearing, said magic knight by the name of Asta was vigorously training with his anti-magic swords. He and a select group of his magic knight peers, all of whom he knew, heeded the call to train in the Heart Kingdom as the foundation of the newfound alliance between the Heart and Clover Kingdoms. Following the Elven resurrection and incursion in the Clover Kingdom, a crisis 500 years in the making, was all orchestrated by a vile, and rather powerful, Devil with the ambition of obtaining a physical body and one of the ominous, ungodly 5-leaf grimoires of myth. This Devil, upon succeeding both of these goals, wanted to ascend from his own dark dimension of origin and invade, conquer, and rule the natural realm of the living as an all-powerful, maleficent force.

Fortunately, our protagonist Asta stood in opposition to this Devils terrible 500-year plot. In reaction to the revelations, and upon coveted intervention from our dear hero, Thought-to-be Enemies who were unwittingly tricked by said Devil became friends and allies. As the 500-year tragedy came to a head, truths were revealed, and mysteries and questions were answered. Our Asta, in fact, in a world where magic is everything, and everyone has some form of magic, Asta, in fact, has none of his own. However, despite the harsh reality, a twist following his grimoire acceptance ceremony, which in tandem as a result of his lack of magic, no grimoire in the tower chose him. However, something quite magical actually happened as Asta then tried to stop a would-be assailant attempting to steal his friends newly obtained and legendary 4-leaf grimoire.

Amidst nearly succumbing to the deepest of despairs, the impossible happened to our hero, a grimoire presented itself to him. But not just any grimoire. A 5-leaf grimoire said to harbor the theoretical (and unbeknownst to him at the time, quite literally) the Devil. What Asta didn't know then was this new grimoire of his, which contained the highly theoretical concept of Anti-Magic in the form of bizarre-looking, rusty swords, was the product of said Devil after a failed ascension. As a last-minute, desperate attempt to not be defeated, this Devil put in motion a five-century long scheme to try again. This grimoire that that Devil failed to obtained actually had belonged to the Chieftain of an Elven tribe long eradicated and the then would-be brother-in-law of the first Wizard king. This Devil manipulated human and Elven relations 500 years ago and tricked the humans in destroying the Elven tribe, in hopes of getting the Chieftain's coveted 4-leaf grimoire corrupt into a 5-leaf, to which he succeeded but failed to obtain and to incarnate himself.  
  
However, the tragedy didn't end there, with the First Wizard King, Lumiere Silvamillion Clover, killing the demonized Elven Chieftain, Licht, to prevent that Devil from incarnating. After 500 years and at the Shadow Palace, an ancient space between the realm of the living and the dead, that very Devil succeeded in obtaining a body and 5-leaf grimoire by massacring the Elven tribe only to reincarnate them into the future where Licht and Lumiere would not exist to stop him. However, due to extraordinary circumstances, Lumiere, sealed as a statue on top of the giant demon skull of his former would-be brother-in-law, was unsealed as part of a plot in response to this Devil's schemes. In arriving at the Shadow palace, the reincarnated yet partially dormant Licht was fully awakened. Alongside Asta and his fellow comrades at what would later be dubbed the battle of the Shadow Palace, these two legends, Licht and Lumiere, arrived in the nick of time. They ultimately played a crucial role in turning the tide of the battle where Asta delivered the killing blow to this insidious Devil.

But despite all that, Asta is currently having difficulty replicating the same feats that he, and Yuno, his foster brother and rival, performed when they dealt that final hit against that Devil. Upon watching the original owner of his own grimoire in action with the Demon-Dweller sword, he managed to, albeit briefly, tap into one of the innate abilities of his Demon-Slayer Sword. At the time, the Slayer sword swelled with anti-magic, enlarging the size of the sword while giving it sharp and condensed edges of anti-magic. It was incredibly taxing for Asta at the time, he somehow managed to pull it off then, but that was during such extreme and dire circumstances, why can't he do it again here and now?

"Aaarrgh!" exclaimed Asta as he took another charged slice at the tree, it is the last of nearly countless hits it took before falling to the ground.  
"Why won't it work!?" he said with frustration as he moved onto the nearest tree next to the five others that he slashed down this late morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn AO3 and them not allowing you to post a prologue strickly named "Prologue"


	2. The Contrast

Somewhere nearby the clearing where Asta is training, there was another magic knight of the Clover kingdom focused on their training regimen. Unlike Asta, they were soaring through their lesson, quite literally. Amidst the low cloud line, there was a silver-blue shaped bird-like object zooming in the low clearance. This wasn't a thing, but someone. This individual was none other than Noelle Silva, second daughter and youngest of the royal Silva family of the Clover Kingdom. Noelle was in the sky practicing the mobility of her newest spell, one she inherited from her late mother, her Valkyrie armor. The spell was an intricate battledress made out of condensed, fast, yet delicate moving water. The dress also had two dress tails at each side of the battle skirt. It came with a weapon that complimented it nicely- a fierce water lance with a controlled, spiraling rapid for the weapon head. She was currently practicing with targets of water in the sky by swiping her lance, sending out a thin yet sharp magical slash with an incredibly misleading amount of force behind it. Some she hit on the first shot, some she didn't. And some of them struck more fully while others barely made contact.

"My my, you are doing pretty good today, Noelle." stated a calm disembodied voice around Noelle. Suddenly, a long stream of water vapors formed near Noelle's person, taking the shape of a mystical mermaid.

"You are doing better than the previous few days, that's for sure." said the cloud as it sparkled in the modest amount of sunlight, emitting colors of the rainbow.

This was no ordinary, magically talking mermaid-shaped water vapor cloud. This was, in fact, Undine, the magical avatar of water and one of the four great spirits of the four main elements. For the past 1300 odd something years, Undine has been contracted to the lineage of the Heart Kingdom's queens who acted as High Priestess, governing the Heart Kingdom with benevolent radiance.

It was true, Noelle had been working hard. To say she had a lot of growth over the past year would be a drastic understatement. From a lost, disowned, mentally scarred, abused child, to a young woman with blooming confidence and capabilities. And yet here she was, one of the chosen few clover knights to train in the Heart Kingdom to foster the newfound alliance between the two countries. This alliance wasn't without purpose, as both countries faced a looming, grave threat. This alliance aimed to take down a common foe, a Devil currently rooted in the Spade Kingdom. This Devil was, in fact, more threatening than the one departed that ravaged the Elven tribe. Unlike the latter, this one successfully rooted itself into this world. Making pacts and casting brutal curses all with the intent to amass power. They even hexed the Heart Kingdom's current queen, Loropechka. This Devil's name was Megicula.

 _sssccchhrooom!_ Noelle's valkyrie dress made a shrieking sound as it sped up.

Noelle launched high velocity, hard-hitting water balls that slammed against a myriad of small moving targets. She got slightly frustrated as she only hit a little more than half.

Unbeknownst to anyone other than her eldest brother Nozel, herself, and one other, Megicula was truly the cause of their mother's death. Noelle's mother, Acier Silva, in fact, did not die giving birth to Noelle. Which was something used to torment Noelle as far back as she could remember.

"Is everything okay, Noelle? You look a bit conflicted," said Undine.

"Yeah, just thinking about what we plan to do in 6 months, preemptively invading the Spade kingdom and all," Noelle replied.

Something got her attention in the nearby forest, a tall pine tree suddenly fell down, followed by a barely audible yell that could be no other than Asta.

"That must be Asta, I wonder how he is doing?" Noelle said openly.

" _Oh, I bet you do."_ Undine coyly retorted, putting a hand to mouth made of mist.

" _WHAA!?--_ " exclaimed a blushing Noelle, turning towards Undine's direction.

" _N-No, it is not w-what you think!_ " she replied sheepishly.

"Sure, it isn't." Undine said with a smirk. Noelle took a second to regain her composure.

"I just heard he has been having difficulty trying to train. That's all." Noelle said, failing to convince Undine.

"Well, I suppose you could take a break for now. You've improved despite it only being a few days since we started."

"Are you sure?" the Clover royal responded.

"Why not? Go help your friend, Noelle. However, when we resume, I expect you to put in the extra effort." said the water spirit.

Noelle simply nodded in response as she turned to fly towards the forest clearing where Asta could be heard.

"Hmm... I have a feeling this could be amusing in the future." Undine said openly to herself after Noelle flew out of earshot. The small clouds of water vapor Undine used to project herself dissipated as she went to Loropecheka's side.


	3. Encouragement

"228... 229..230!... 231..." muttered Asta under his breath.

He was hard at work. Trying to find a way to reach the innate abilities of his swords, something he hasn't been able to do since those unbelievable moments near two weeks ago. At least not to the same degree. If they were to invade the Spade Kingdom to stop Megicula, a Devil considerably more powerful and dangerous than the one he and his friends slew in the Shadow Palace. Asta had to discover, learn, adapt, and hone those hidden abilities. The literal fate of the world as they knew it hanged in the balance. He wasn't going to give up, gods no, but he was getting a little irritated. How could he replicate a magic attack when he had absolutely zero magic?

Asta was too lost in thought to sense nor hear Noelle's approach, only noticing after she started to approach when he swung his sword in that direction.

"Oh, hey Noelle!" said Asta as he perked up at the sight of his friend.  
"Hey, Dumbsta." Noelle said in her trademark casual-yet-slightly-rude tone. "I was nearby when I heard you training." her Valkyrie armor dispersed as it melted around her. Despite it being made of water, Noelle didn't seem dampened in the slightest. Asta flung his sword in the ground by his side, facing Noelle.

"So what is it that you are trying to accomplish here? I thought you had found new abilities your swords were capable of." the royal girl said in slight reserve. "But here you are just practicing with them."

"Yeah yeah, I'm just having difficulty trying to channel them. I can't seem to get to them." Asta said as he turned his eyesight to the sword in question. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. And why can't you?" Noelle responded with her typical air of superiority.  
"It's just--" Asta said, scratching the back of his head "It's because I have no magic." This piqued Noelle's interest. She hadn't heard that in a while, at least not in a noticeable tone of defeat.  
"Huh? Explain," she asked. Asta drew a breath.

"Well, it's like what I've said after the Shadow Palace. During that battle with the Devil and his Word Soul Magic, we only won because we had the help of those two legends in history, although brief and against the normal rules of death." Asta gulped as he prepared to continue.

"I fought Licht with Yuno when we raided the Eye of the Midnight Sun hideout, but he trounced us all the while his soul was still shackled. He was even more amazing when Nero was able to free him from that weight. My grimoire was originally his, and he commanded such skill. He was able to unleash these MASSIVE magical slashes from the Dweller sword with such ease and frequency. It was amazing. I thought I could do the same with the anti-magic but no such luck so far. After reflecting on everything that happened the past two weeks, I was beginning to wonder maybe it was just luck that I made it thi--Mmmblrghh!!"

"Idiot." Noelle promptly and flatly stated in one smooth motion drawing her wand and blasting Asta with a water ball. Asta was knocked off his feet, sent aback several feet onto the forest floor. A spout of water emerging from his lips. Asta propped up his head, a bit peeved off after one of Noelle's all too frequent soakings.

"Heyy!! What was that for!? I--" Asta shouted before being cut off by an assertive Noelle.  
"For starting to doubt yourself. For starting to give up." Noelle said pretentiously, flicking one of her pigtails in the process.

"hmm?" grunted a curious Asta, sitting up properly, full attention to Noelle. A slight pout could be seen in his expression.

"But I wasn't gi--" Noelle interrupted Asta again.

"Yes, you were. Maybe not this time at this moment, but eventually, you would. You haven't been genuinely jealous about magic in some time."

"Why are you saying this, Noelle?" question the boy with no magic.

"B-Because, Dumbsta, I know you, and I know the f-feeling all too well, remember?" Noelle responded, blushing ever so slightly.

Suddenly it dawned on Asta what Noelle meant. She did understand how he felt. And much more than he ever did. He recalled the first day they met, the first full day of him being a Magic Knight in the Black Bulls squad.

_She was so broken back then. A stoic, cold shell of a person outwardly trying to assert whatever sense of dominance she could get, pitifully. All her life, she has been abused, unfairly blamed for the death of her mother that died giving birth to her. The bullying, the shaming, the belittling. If that wasn't bad enough, she was chastised even more so for not being able to control her own magic her entire pre-Magic Knight life. She was made a laughing stock not just with her family but nearly the entirety of Clover's nobility. How disgraceful was it that as nobility, and royalty at that, that she couldn't control her own magic? Nobles, let alone those of royalty, had such bountiful reserves of magic and magic control. Royalty unanimously having among the highest amount of magic over the vast majority of humanity and the keenest intuition of controlling their power._

Other then her cousin,Mimosa whom she saw occasionally, even more rarely was Fuegoleon and Meroleona Vermillion. Not to mention a few preferred servants, she knew not a kind soul all her life. Until she joined the Black Bulls and met him. He was the first 'real' person to not look at her and burst out laughing. Amidst one of her long, countless, fruitless sessions of practicing her magic, he saw the effort she put in and was astounded. When discovered, she made it worse and had a breakdown, getting trapped in a massive, catastrophic vortex of her own power towering over their base. He saved her from her magic, and when approached her while she was on the ground, she flinched away. She expected him and everyone watching to be like the rest, they always were. But no humiliation ever came.

In fact, he reached out his hand to help her up, complimenting the staggering volume of power she could summon, saying how he was jealous because he had none of his own. The only known human to have not a single drop of magic in a world where magic was and is everything. He didn't stop there, he genuinely wanted to be her friend and accompanied her ever since, encouraging her all the way. They were the only new recruits that year, so they stuck together. She would have been no more than that scared, abused little girl from little over a year ago, if still in this world at all. _If it were not for him._

"N-Noelle." Asta stuttered. " I didn't know you cared."  
"O-Of course I d-do, Asta. We're squadmates, r-remember?" Noelle said while blushing a bit more firmly. Something Asta still didn't notice.  
Before they could continue their conversation in earnest, a small puff of mist suddenly appeared nearby within view. It was Undine.

"Noelle..." she beckoned. "It's time to get back to training, you are going to spar with some dummy water knights next. It's important."  
Seeing how it didn't look likely Undine was going to let Noelle slack off for too much longer, Noelle turned back to Asta.

"Looks like I gotta go, maybe I'll see you later, okay?" Noelle said, feeling a bit shy.  
"Yeah sure, I'm glad that we are good friends, Noelle." the loud, obnoxious boy replied, visibly happier than before their conversation. Noelle turned and walked towards Undine's apparition, albeit feeling a bit timid after the last part of Asta's statement.

"Hey, Noelle!" Asta shouted after her, to which she turned around. What he said next was slightly quieter, but more content.

"Thank you." he said, with a beaming smile.  
"D-don't mention it, Dumbsta." Noelle sheepishly yet audibly responded.  
Noelle summoned her Valkyrie dress again as she took off with Undine.

"What was that about knowing his frustration all too well?" Undine inquired curiously.  
"It's...complicated." plainly replied the royal girl.  
"Well, could you tell me?" asked the Water Spirit.

And so Noelle told Undine details about Noelle's story. Undine listened to Noelle with growing intent as Asta resumed his training with a renewed vigor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Going to take a couple days break, maybe a week. Gotta relax in regards to the story and gather my thoughts***


	4. The Dungeon: Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm back! Next chapter is done! it took longer than I intended for multiple reasons. One I had difficulty thinking about what to write and how to write about it. I also came up with other ideas some which seemed to be a bit too over-the-top. Fortunately I also thought of some good ideas to which I'll likely plan to write for future chapters. So, fingers crossed, writing the next couple chapters could prove to be a bit easier. As I mentioned in the description, this is my very first fanfic and something I only decided to do because of quarantine boredom, the amount of positive feedback I'm getting from both Wattpad and AO3, along with feedback from some of the more creative peeps in the official fan reddit r/blackclover discord have been amazing! Thank you! Enjoy!  
> ======================================================================================

"Are you two sure this is the righ- OW! Watch where you're going, Asta!" complained Noelle.

 _"_ Well, It's dark in here. Even with Leopold's fire magic!" retorted the buff peasant boy.

"Maybe you should stop following so close, Noelle." he continued.

"Hah! Never a dull moment around you lot!" chuckled the Vermillion boy.

The trio, Asta, Noelle, and Leopold, were exploring an ancient, long-forgotten dungeon. The part split up into groups, and the three young knights were one of the said groups.

"Hey Leopold, shine some of your magic over here," called out Asta. "I think I see some writing on the walls."

The young Vermillion obliged and shone his open flame to help with Asta's vision.

"Yeah, I think we are getting close. These characters look awfully similar to the ones in my grimoire, whatever language it is." As Asta and Leopold were looking at the mysterious inscriptions, Noelle looked to the side, observing another part of the wall. She was following a series of ornate decorations indented in the wall, made from a weird stone and obsidian composite, capable of withstanding any intense heat. As she was nearing the edges of Leopold's light, the decorations were harder to see the further she went along.

Suddenly, she felt her left arm and shoulder touch something, something sticky. It was a spider web. A _giant_ spider web.

" **EEEEEEYYAAA!!** " exclaimed a frightened Noelle. In one fell swoop, she yanked her arm and shoulder free while jumping back, getting some serious air off the ground. The two boys snapped their heads towards the direction of her scream.

"L-Look! a g-giant spider web! It's huge!!" she said, pointing a shaky finger towards massive spider web easily 3 meters in diameter and strings of silk as a thick modest paintbrush. However, Noelle didn't realize that she jumped right into Asta, inadvertently clutching him tightly while she pointed at the spider web.

"Really? how big is-wooaaah.." Asta said in awe of the giant web before them, forgetting for a brief moment that Noelle was clutching him while off the ground. Fortunately, due to being very physically fit, Asta was able to easily support Noelle with little to no recoil to the sudden motion.

"How many of them do you think they're there--Huh?" Asta said to Noelle, the last bit as he turned his head to Noelle, who at the same time promptly turned to face her speaker and the one who was accidentally carrying her.

"uhh.." Noelle groaned in embarrassment as she realized the situation between the two, her cheeks started to show a rosy red color.

" _HEYYY! WATCH IT! What do you think you are doing!?!?"_ she yelled at the helpless boy, giving him a strong, wound up slap across his cheek. Asta was sent flying a short distance.

"heyy! No fair! You were the one who jumped into meeee!" he yelled as he was sailing briefly in the air. He landed on his buttocks, skittering on the ground as he made contact. Leopold burst out in a brief fit of robust laughter.

Only a few short days have passed since the forest meeting between the two black bull rookies. However, unlike where they were last, which was in the Heart Kingdom, they were actually back in their own country of Clover. This was not a social visit, not at all.

Yultim Volcano, informally known as hell's furnace on earth. A strong magic region. A place where natural mana ran absolutely rampant, manifesting as an area of extreme inclement phenomenon. Yultim volcano was a favorite of the royal Vermilion family, a family with strong fire magic heritage. For Asta and Noelle, along with Noelle's vermilion cousin, Leopold, this was their second visit to this hellhole. Mereleona Vermillion, the older sister of Leopold, 'volunteered' the young magic knights to go on a training hike to the top of a volcano before the Royal Knight Selection exam. This time, however, they were not going to the top, which turned into a well-rewarding hot spring at night. They were going _under_ the volcano.

The black bulls were supposed to be hypothetically exiled as they investigated activities of Devils in their world. Asta was nearly tried and executed as a scapegoat for the reincarnated elven incursion. The Clover parliament, in their own ignorance, did not believe a Devil was behind the entire plot. What they fabricated and chose to believe was that Asta, owning a Devil himself, was the true mastermind behind the plot, wanting to take revenge due to his low-status birth. This fabrication could have been no farther from the truth. Nonetheless, they were not in the Clover Kingdom of their own free will, per se. But here they were, underneath a particularly hot volcano in an ancient, deadly dungeon long forgotten.

What Mereleona _didn't_ tell them until after a brief altercation with the said creature, was that there was a giant spider monster starting to wreak havoc on Yultim's fiery ecosystem. The spider monster had inhabited the area for ages, but in recent months it started going out of control. The said creature was the target of an ancient, forbidden curse, and later said curse had begun to significantly bolster the capabilities of the giant spider to an insane degree. Only until after a brief encounter with the spider monster did Asta and the gang, after hearing Mereleona's revelation, did they stumble on the decrepit, forgotten entrance to the said dungeon. Something she herself had been seeking for a long time. They then split into groups to search the dungeon. A little over an hour later into the dungeon, here they, Asta, Noelle, and Leopold were. A few moments had passed since the awkward moment of Noelle jumping onto Asta, they were exploring beyond the doorway that the spider web from earlier blocked off. It was a good thing they had Asta, as he was able to make quick work of the web with his anti-magic swords.

"Yeah, this is definitely the way, if only we had some way to inform the others," said Noelle. Suddenly, Asta and Leopold once again turned their attention to Noelle, just in time to see her shoot a strong bolt of water into the corner, hitting and killing a rather giant spiderling. Its body was as big as their heads, not including the length and size of its legs. Which considering Noelle's occasional brusque remark concerning the size of Asta's head, was definitely saying something. But the size of the 'baby' spider didn't matter anymore, as it was lying on its back with its legs curled upwards. It was dead.

"Man... look at the size of that thing. Then again, I'm not surprised since we already encountered that giant one." spoke Asta, witnessing Noelle kill that spiderling. The spider monster in question that they were hunting was obviously the mother of the brood. They also had to find the source of the curse, somewhere in this dungeon. If they were of that large as babies and grew into the size of that giant spider monster, it was imperative that they kill it and it's nest. Considering how strong and how much of a problem the mother spider had recently become, who knows what kind of havoc the brood could do if it started to expand outside the volcano. The potential of a breed of giant, most-likely man-eating spiders will do if they run amok. They could very likely infest the Clover kingdom due to the forbidden magic curse's effects, bolstering the prowess of said spiders to such a high degree.

The trio entered another doorway into a very large, spacious room. At the very end against the back wall was a rather dark and bizarre-looking altar with a dark-ish purple crystal placed upright in the middle. The altar had a set of extensive stairs made from the same stone-obsidian composite Noelle noticed earlier. As they took cautious steps into the sanctum, Asta jumped.

"What was that!?" the boy said, slightly startled. For a brief moment, he sensed _something_. Noelle and Leopold orientated themselves towards where Asta was facing. Leopold flicked a small, levitating flame into the corner, giving light to another vast web. This time, this one had various tightly knit cocoons strewn within, along with a couple of more significant, more loosely yet also secured cocoons. Those were obviously egg sacs.

"See? its nothing, stop being such a scared y-cat, Dumbsta." Noelle huffed.

"Excuse!? Didn't you jump several feet into the air and into my arms at the sight of that other spider five minutes ago?" retorted the short boy, obviously getting a bit worked up at Noelle's remark. Leopold could only roll his eyes in amusement at the two's bickering.

 _"Why aren't those two going out already? They certainly bicker like they're a young couple."_ Leopold thought to himself. The three of them continued walking into the sanctum.

However, what they didn't notice, which was in the back right corner, opposite to where Asta looked mere seconds ago, was a pair of eight, large eyes with a slight red glow watching them. Around said eyes, and underneath the foliage of the dark shadows surrounding it, the faint outlines of a multitude of what are huge spider legs started to move upwards towards the corner ceiling above.


	5. The Dungeon: Part 2

The young trio pressed forward into the dark sanctum. There were old, decrepit stone statues carved into the walls littered with giant spiderwebs strewn all over. The trio continued walking towards the end of the room and up the stairs. As Leopold gave more life to his flame, the three could see how ornate the spacious room really was. Various magic circles of that obscure, bizarre, and ancient-looking written language were etched in the floor, in the walls, and in the ceiling itself. The trio shuddered as they reached the top of the staircase, standing in front of the minacious altar. It was like the room itself was oozing a sinister force, as if faint, invisible hands were trying to grab the three friends. Seeking the life force the three of them radiated. They approached the demonic altar to study it.

"I feel a very intense, sinister magic coming from that crystal." said Noelle with a side of caution.

"Then that is where the curse is coming from, then let us destroy it!" Asta bellowed.

"You idiot! this isn't like normal magic, we have no idea if it could curse us if we try to!" Noelle bickered. Although Asta's suggestion made sense in simple terms, she wasn't going to let him make a mistake that could cost him, and likely all three of them, quite dearly. Leopold was too busy examining some ancient text on the altar to comment on his two comrades pointless arguing.

"Hey guys, I think I may have found some text that may have an explanation, it says here that this altar and this whole dungeon is some sort of a monument to a specific devil." Leopold stated, eyes still fixated on reading the old pieces of parchment.

" Well, of course it is! That's obvious, what else could this place be?" complained Noelle.

"Hey, don't get so worked up over nothing, Noelle. Sheesh." the ginger-haired boy retorted.

"Wait a second, you can read ancient text, Leo?" questioned Asta with excitement. "That's so freaking cool! Can you tell us what it says?"

"Yeah, but only a little bit, some of it is illegible, and the grammar has changed a good deal since then." said Leopold. "Says here, a small group of devil worshipers built this place as a shrine once a specific greater devil incarnated into this world. Apparently, this place is meant to give said devil hospitality and to amass and corrupt natural mana for said devil's use." Leopold said openly.

"Hey! there's more! It says here that there is an 'Eldritch Guardian,' a semi-sentient creature used to guard and maintain these types of dungeons.

"That must be the Spider monster!" both a surprised Asta and Noelle said synchronously. Leopold continued right after he rolled his eyes.

"It says here that they received word that the arrival of their 'Lord' was nigh and built this place in hopes of being granted power and favors from this 'Greater Devil.'" All three of them were confused and somewhat disgusted how these twisted people could romanticize a Devil. A Devil who would probably trick, steal, and kill them if it didn't already try to do so.

"It says here the name of the greater devil is.. Zurit? Zufred? No. His name is Zagred, the high devil of...wy- no of 'Word Soul magic,'" Leopold said with faltering confidence. Not only was it hard to read but also incredibly degraded as well. Asta went pale.

Leo and Noelle suddenly heard a strained gasp coming from their unnerved comrade.

"What's the matter, Asta?" they both said in unison. However, Noelle quickly realized what disturbed him.

"That was... _him."_ Leopold's eyes nearly bulged out of his head as Asta shakily confirmed the identity of the devil in question. Asta forced himself to continue.

"Guys, if that indicates anything, its that we are likely way over our heads being just the three of us here. We need to get out and wait for everyone else to come here and all at once att--"

Asta was cut off as his fear came to realize. His warning came too late.

_BOOOOOM!!! CRASH!!_

The Spider monster pounced on them from the ceiling and slammed Asta away and into the distant wall.

" _ASTA!"_ shouted both Leo and Noelle. Jumping away from the cursed creature beside them. Asta got up from the rubble, wielding his Demon-Slayer in his right hand and resting the blade on his left.

As if on cue, all three of them prepared to fight by activating their respective powers. With a dark, lowly static hum, Asta went into his black form. A single black and tattered wing formed on his right backside, his right eye changed from green to red with a vertical, slit-like pupil. A pitch-black bullhorn grew above his right ear, his right hand and forearm covered in the same black ichor. Leopold erupted in flames as streams of water entwined Noelle, forming her Valkyrie armor. They sprang into action.

Asta, being an anti-magic swordsman, went to close distance. Leopold fell back by himself as crowd control, taking potshots when able. Noelle being the most agile of the three, stayed somewhere in the middle, serving to distract, support, and potentially attack when at all possible.

Asta exchanged blows with the monster. The giant spider sprayed a web aimed at an angle, hoping to catch Asta off guard. The attack left Asta open to a quick swipe; however, he managed to at least partially react in time. He managed to stay level and on his feet as he landed several feet back. Then a strong impact of fire promptly hit the giant spider directly in its thorax. Leopold managed to shoot and land a short firebolt on the creature. The monster changed its focus to the red-haired fire-magic user, spitting magical venom in the boy's direction, narrowly missing Leopold. Suddenly, a fierce roar of a dragon filled the room.

_ROOOAAAARRRRRRR!!!_

Noelle's cast Sea Dragon's Roar ripped through the room, landing a direct hit on the Eldritch Guardian. It upended the beast, stunning it momentarily. Asta and Leopold took that opening and pressed forward. Asta's black-coated sword lobed off a spider leg as Leo shot a beam of bright, condensed fire intended to pierce its target. They managed to wound the creature.

 _Or so they thought_.

Suddenly, the entire sanctum shook as an ominous and sinister atmosphere boomed through the air, whispers that were merely slight figments of imagination to represent fear turned very real. With an evil purple hue, the magic turned into glyphs, and those glyphs formed magical circles and arrays. Those magic circles pulsed with unnerving dread, the whispers picking up around them. In a warped, jargon-sounding language, the hanging whispers picked up and started to chant.

_These chants were all too familiar to Asta._

_"f̴̲ủ̸̪t̶̖͑ö̴̝́g̸̠̚e̸̠̍r̶̩͋ǔ̵̘e̷̟̔ö̵̠f̴̮̎u̸̩̿_ S̶̍ͅn̶̯̒o̸͍͊i̷̥̎t̵̫̋t̶̖̕n̵̯̊ë̸̳́d̸̤͛e̷͍͐ḯ̸͈ḋ̶̢ő̶̙o̵͙̍g̸̲͌..."

As these demonic words filled the air, these cursed magic circles began to glow, a folic mirage filling their center. Disembodied arms of an unnatural, sick purple shot out from said magic circles, trying desperately to grab at the intruders, attracted to the three young knights' brimming life force.

"I KNOW WHAT THESE ARE, DON'T LET THEM GRAB YOU GUYS, THEY'LL EVENTUALLY TRY TO SUCK OUT YOUR LIFE FORCE!" Asta warned his comrades as loud as he could be, which is no understatement. The three of them were suddenly on the defensive as they tried to react to this new threat. Leopold managed to keep his distance, launching hard-hitting fireballs at the accursed disembodied limbs trying to grab him. He didn't have much success, his magic only seemed to be capable of momentarily stunning them.

Noelle seemed to have the easier time out of the three to adapt, her Valkyrie armor offering great agility, mobility, and free-form flight much to her advantage. She pushed her self the past few weeks, and it has been paying off. She managed to use the heart kingdom's coveted enchanting technique, inscribing the characters 'Sharpen', 'Pierce,' and 'condense' onto her Valkyrie lance. Her grimoire started to glow a bit brighter as the tip of her lance elongated like a needle, spinning more rapidly and fiercely than the weapon's remainder. Despite the thinning of the spear point, the point itself was even more potent as an even more enormous amount of mana was compacted into it.

Slice _! Swipe!_

While spinning like a top in midair, avoiding several traps, Noelle's weapon managed to actually cut _and destroy_ the demonic magic, a feat treading the borderline of impossibility for what is considered 'natural' magic. She managed to clear most of the traps near Leo and herself. She and Leopold only briefly had time to look at each other in the eyes as Noelle's head snapped to attention at the sounds coming from Asta's direction.

Ast _a was in trouble._

Apparently, the majority of the traps were concentrated in Asta's vicinity. Almost as if they, the traps, or the Eldritch guardian knew that he and his Anti-Magic were the most significant threat of the three. At first, he managed to fend off the traps just fine, but one managed to get past his guard, keeping him on the ground by grabbing his left ankle. Suddenly his left foot was pelted with a giant ball of webbing. Another hand managed to latch onto his right forearm from behind. He swung the Demon-Slayer sword, leading to cut an oncoming magic trap and cursed arm before it reached him. However, the ones that were already on him managed to successful stagger the young boy, almost knocking him off balance. He struggled to regain his balance and reposition his sword for another swing. Another giant glob of spider webbing managed to hit his face and blind him. He almost tripped, being pulled from multiple directions. Asta was way off balance for a swordsman.

The Eldritch Guardian began to charge towards Asta. It was capitalizing on this newly-made opportunity, spitting on one of its many limbs, coating it with a sickly poison while dodging various fire bolts from Leopold.

It _was going for the kill._

"Asta!" Noelle screamed. She immediately realized the gravity of this situation, and not just concerning Asta's hazardous current situation.

"A _sta and his Anti-Magic are the best chance that we have of defeating this spider monster and this curse! Without Asta, Leo and I are as good as dead! I need to do something, I need to help him!"_

Noelle's inner-monologue was correct, without Asta, they were doomed. With all the strength she could muster, she bolted towards Asta. Her Valkyrie dress and her sharpened lance making low-pitched wails in the air as she sped towards him, her grimoire now shining a beautiful cerulean blue.

"Asta! Watch out! Danger close!" she bellowed towards her comrade.

With a splash, she touched down near her fellow Black Bull, again spinning like a top, encroaching inwards into Asta's immediate field of reach. The royal Valkryie turned like an intense tornado rampaging on the ocean.

S _WOOSH! BOOM! SLASH! SCHINK!_

As if in slow motion, Noelle managed to free Asta's ankle from its vice. The royal valkyrie spun on one foot, the other foot pointed towards the ceiling. This allowed her to position herself to rebound a bullet of poison aimed at Asta while following up with a low swipe to free his remaining foot. 

Asta stumbled free, falling and catching himself by pivoting on his free hand. He spun around, trying to sweep the spider's giant legs off the ground with his sword. He tried to remove the webbing, obstructing his vision as he faced the other direction. The moderate splash from Noelle's magic made it much easier as he pulled the webbing off his face, turning to the direction of his team and squadmate intending to thank them for the save.

However, as soon as he pulled the web off his face, he barely saw even a split second before something else stung his eyes, obscuring his vision yet again. He immediately started to wipe it away from his eyes.

"Thanks for the save, Noelle! --" through the slight second his vision was still blurred, he stopped speaking as he quickly realized something was amiss.

Noelle was holstered in the air looking downward, facing Asta.

_"..*cough*.."_ Noelle croaked, blood spewing from her mouth. Upon seeing this, Asta started to shake ever so slightly as he refocused to see what was on his hand that got into his eyes.

**_Smeared on the palm of his hand and on his face was Noelle's blood._ **

"N-... Noe-..." Asta was at a loss for words.

_He looked and saw a giant spider leg skewered into her right shoulder._

She was elevated by the Eldritch spider as she sunk even further onto the giant spider leg. This only served to widen her collarbone's impalement as she let out a cry that was a fusion of a blood-curdling scream and a defeated whimper. The sound she created made Asta and Leo's heart skip a beat, especially for Asta, as he was still processing her altruism that apparently saved his life.

Her Valkyrie dress was in ruins, having been stripped down to nothing but tattered underlinings made of water. She slightly managed to look at Asta with a faint, subtly-guilty looking smile. The giant spider they were sent to kill hurled her through the air, hitting the far-sided wall with a thud and crack that made her two friends reflexively cringe at the sound.

" ** _NOELLE!!!---_** " Asta wailed as he cried out his friend's name. He let his guard down in shock, and that's precisely what the Eldritch wanted. The giant spider took that opportunity to broadside him and push him, sending him flying into the nearby wall with an audible force. He hit his head in the impact's recoil. His entire head was spinning, and he couldn't hear through the sharp ringing in his ear. Several seconds later, he could vaguely see a blurry reddish-orange outline approach his fallen comrade in the distance. It was Leopold rushing to Noelle's aide.

The cursed spider approached Asta as it pelted him in a single blob of webbing, sticking the boy to the wall. As his vision finally cleared. His eyes bulged out as he saw Noelle's condition.

Her torso was in a twist, barely propped up against the wall with her head turned to the side. Her body sitting on her right arm, the arm twisted in the wrong direction along with her now greatly-dislocated right shoulder. A small pool of blood started to form. Asta saw her now inert grimoire face-open onto the dungeon floor. 

_She wasn't moving._

Asta stared, his eyes starting to water, his vision cutting in and out. When he opened them again, he saw that right before his eyes, staring him down at head height, was the damned monstrous spider. It was basking in the negative emotions emanating from Asta with its eyes closed. Savoring them, _enjoying them_. It grinned in front of the despairing boy, its face giving berth to an unnaturally wide and curvy sincere red grin. With two rows of serrated, alternating shark teeth, it smiled. The smile of a Devil. Especially _that_ devil.

As Asta looked down in defeat, he didn't know why, but he started to think about _that_ devil, the one he just killed a couple weeks ago. Apparently, his name was Zagred, according to the text found on the altar. As he drowned in those thoughts, he remembered that wicked cackle Zagred had; despite his intense dizziness, he could even imagine what the devil would say.

_'You see, boy? This is what you get for standing in my way, now prepare to die along with your precious comrade!!'_

Asta's inner dialogue was right. He was dying, but he didn't care about himself at the moment. All of his concern was regarding Noelle. Why her? He only started to really think about it recently, but life had been so cruel to her- is being cruel to her. It was only about a year ago she started to really begin living, and now all of that was at an end soon. She could barely manage shallow breaths as the impact likely broke several ribs.

_No._

The ancient, accursed Eldritch spider was basking in Asta's sorrow. It was enjoying a few more precious seconds before it needed to eventually break away and secure the one remaining prey of the trio. It's basking was cut short, its primal instincts yelling and screaming:

_Don't look away from him! Pay attention to the boy!_

Suddenly, wisps of black energy started to stem from Asta. The power intensified and began to flow from the boy in all directions. It grew even more robust, more violent, it was flooding!

The beginnings of intense fear started to form in the spider's many eyes, all focused on Asta.

Asta raised his head, he opened his eyes. Instead of his usual opaque green-shaded eyes, and the one red right eye with a vertical pupil and slit when in his Anti-Magic Black form...

There were two red, demonic eyes again with vertical slits, this time, they were overflowing with rage.

Only one thing, one word crossed the boy's mind at that very moment.

 ** _Hate_**...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah this took a long time to finish, especially in the past couple days. 2867 words in this chapter alone, compared to the 4629 words amongst the 4 chapters before it. Also there is a cover art for the story on wattpadd that was *just* completed like a couple hours or so ago.  
> Hope you all enjoy!


	6. The Dungeon: Part 3

_Crack... thud_

Noelle's body hit and slid down the wall. After a few seconds of shock, Leopold lept into motion. He had to get to Noelle quickly if there was any chance she could make out of this dungeon alive. He was light on his feet, dodging various detritus and acid burns strewn across the dungeon floor. The Spider monster seemingly ignored him and went after Asta, but Leopold couldn't let that distract him. Noelle's life was in danger.

He got to where she was laying against the wall, and he nearly gagged. He saw how she was sitting on her dislocated arm and shoulder while bleeding from it, along with several minor but visible injuries.

"Hang in there, Noelle!" He barked at the unconscious girl.

 _'Shit, this looks bad... What am I supposed to do?'_ Leo thought.

After composing his thoughts a brief second later, he took hold of his unconscious cousin. Leo lifted her just enough to get her dislocated arm out from under her. He hardened his resolve. He tried twisting her shoulder and forearm in the right direction but quickly stopped as he was too inexperienced. He ripped off her right sleeve, it would only get in the way. He glazed over the rest of her outfit to see if there was another place he could tear from in hopes of stopping the bleeding, but he also wanted to keep her somewhat decent. He ultimately decided to rip off his robe, clean the wound as best he could, and tried to cut the circulation off with his robe. It didn't have much effect.

_Crap! I can't stop the bleeding! What else can I do? I don't know any recovery spells, and her mana skin is starting to thin. Even though this dungeon is somewhat cooler than the rest of the volcano, she'll still burn up in less than a minute!_

_I-I could cauterize the wound, that'll stop the bleeding! But her shoulder is dislocated, and it'll scar and complicate it more! Plus, she definitely broke a couple of ribs from that impact. I guess I have no choice..._

Leopold took a brief second to steel himself, then sent a small and delicate flame through her punctured shoulder, cauterizing the wound.

_If you try being mad about this, well... realize you don't get to be angry about it..._

After Leopold sealed her wound, he put his left hand carefully on her hip. He expanded his mana skin to envelope her, protecting her from the environment.

_Damn it! It just got hotter in here now that I have to put more into my mana skin, how the hell are we going to get out of this? I can't leave Noelle like this for too long and Asta nee-_

Leopold didn't finish the thought; he felt a shiver down his spine as his premonition felt something cold unnerve him from behind. He could sense the ambient thermal mana, plus the sinister mana suddenly vanish from the air. His prayers were magically answered. Yet, instead, he felt something even more ominous that took its place. Currents of what he could only describe as emptiness breezed through the sanctum. They were originating from Asta. Leopold looked over to see tangible currents of a black breeze emanate from his friend as Asta was pinned to the wall.

The Eldritch guardian took a single step, or whatever could be considering a 'step' for a spider, from the boy attached to the wall. Immediately spraying more webbing to keep the boy stuck.

_No use._

Three black dots broke the webbing's surface where his right arm and hand were supposed to be. Generally, while in his black form, his right forearm and hand were coated in the black anti-magic. In one fell motion, Asta punched his hand through the webbing and slashed to his left side, shredding the webbing. He had a somewhat oversized, clawed hand with four very sharp black talons. They consisted of three primary digits and one opposable.his entire arm past his shoulder covered in a solid black. Asta's left hand was now coated in black up to its forearm as well., his feet were replaced with the same large talons retracted into themselves. He was definitely taller than his usual. His eyes and forehead were surrounded in black. Giving contrast to his two now-red beating eyes that were not just like a snake's—but of a demon's. A long, thin line of a tail with a clover barb made of anti-magic followed behind him. 

He usually had one black bullhorn on his right side when in his black form. When successfully manifesting black divider against Zagred, a single goat horn also manifested on his right.

Except now, he didn't just have his black bullhorn and that black goat horn on his right, but now a complementing goat horn appeared on his left. Anti-Magic filled the air as blackish-red orbs of the power apparated in the sanctum, seemingly rising from the ground. The Eldritch guardian hissed and went to strike, raising a fine leg to stab through the now devil-like boy. It went for the stab.

_Within mere grazing distance, the spider leg stopped, much to the creatures, and Leopold's, surprise._

Asta caught the leg with his left, still-human hand, holding it back without falter, his muscles in his now black left arm not shaking in the slightest. The creature's massively overpowering strength from before was promptly usurped by the boy's rage. 

_Snap_

Asta broke off the tip of its leg and, in one smooth motion, lobbed it into the creature, impaling it in its thorax. The beast cried in pain only to double down in volume a split second later. Asta stepped forward, aggressively pivoting to wind up his sword and slammed it into the spider with its blunt side, sending the creature flying into the wall.

Immediately after hitting the beast, Asta started walking towards the creature with a seething glare in his red eyes.

_WHACK!_

Asta batted the giant spider off the wall with his sword, leaving a large gash as spider blood poured out of it. The creature slammed into the opposite walland collapsed to the floor with its legs up.

_It was dead._

Suddenly, as if sensing the danger present and as if it were alive, the sanctum flared with an eerie, dreadful power. Whispers turned into wails, then joined together to form a single, air-piercing voice. The inlays on the floor began to flow a dark-black purple with a violet glow. A giant face formed in the epicenter of the room where the inlays converged into a now exposed pedestal. 

_A face of a Devil._

_"Now, get back."_

Suddenly an invisible wall pushed Asta far away from the guardian of the dungeon. Asta managed to land ever so lightly on his feet with unsettling ease. The origin of the voice came from the pedestal in the middle of the room. It now had the devil-possessed boy's attention. The boy raised his Demon-Slayer sword, jumping high into the air, intending to cut the pedestal in half.

"Hmm. My essence is only partially manifested in this world from the underworld, but it looks like I have no choice."

" _Bind._ " said the demonic voice. 

Black tendrils formed from pockets of haze suddenly appearing around Asta and tied around his limbs, pinning him against the wall. 

" _What in the world, comrade?"_ said the disembodied face. It was not happy.

" _Do you know what you are doing? Do you realize what this place is? I was instructed not to manifest physically unless absolutely necessary."_

That malicious ooze started flowing from the pedestal like a fountain. The crystal on the altar shot across the room, and to the pedestal. The pale purple ichor rose from the pedestal, the crystal at its center, forming a tall, thin, and stalky figure. The figure had wings the span between small and modest protruding from its back. Its upper chest and face a stone-gray. The pale purple and ashy gray complexion appeared somewhat strained as if there were a degree of fragility.

"Do you realize this place serves as a font of power to the higher devils, especially Lord Zagred?"

The possessed, rage-filled Asta only groaned in indiscriminate anger, trying to struggle against his restraints.

"-Oh? Is your newly-possessed body still feral? That must explain your hostility, comrade." it stated. 

"The name is Djæraq, I am a lesser devil under Lord Zagred," he said coyly, turning his head toward Leopold.

"I see we have a rat infestation, and by the look and feel of their mana, this one is not aged enough to be a vessel. Oh, well." the demon started to point towards Leopold right when Leo shot a firebolt at him, which Djæraq dodged with ease and minimal effort. The firebolt disappeared from behind the Devil as if it was snuffed.

"HA! So predictable! Now, where could it have gone? Oh, I know!" with a whiff of his hand, Leopold's flame appeared in their palm. Suddenly, the fire burned larger and more intensely, changing in color from its typical fire-red to a more sinister and glaring purple. Djæraq started to cackle. 

"I just love it when rats pull the trigger on themselves!" Leopold froze in absolute fear as a beam of intense, sinister heat shot from Djæraq's hand. Leopold was too scared to move. He was going to die.

Suddenly, there was a rush of black in the corner of the Devil's eye. Asta soaked in more anti-magic, breaking free from his magical restraints and launching with incredible speed. 

_CLANK!_

Asta intercepted the beam of purple flame with the broadside of his Demon-Slayer sword. The sword was amped with Anti-magic among its outline, supplementing the size of the blade—Asta's Black Divider.

**_Kill..._ ** Asta's rage commanded.

_"..huh?"_ Djæraq was caught off guard when this 'comrade' of his rebounded his magic with his own sword. The redirected projectile hit him head-on, his body of hardened goo shattering. Suddenly, some of the more intact shattered pieces reverted back to goo as more of the ichor spewed from the pedestal, reforming the Devil's body around that crystal from the altar. 

" _EXCUSE ME!?_ " the Devil said. They were pissed. 

"So your hostility _wasn't_ a short-term complication of taking over that body, but a conscious choice. A rogue Devil? You have a death wish? I carry out the will of Lord Zagred and the other high devils! You'll pay dearly!"

With the motion of a single hand, Djæraq launched more of his corrupted fire like bits of purple-burning napalm. The other hand motioned towards the statues in the wall. Suddenly those statues glowed with the same sick purple that consisted of Djæraq's body and of the reservoir ingrained in the floor. The statues came alive and immediately encroached towards Asta. His slashes turned into parries as he exchanged strikes with some of the statues, cutting down two.

"Oh, it looks like physical objects make better contact with your sword. Luckily my Transmutation magic, much like Lord Zagred's Word Soul magic, allows me to manipulate the magical AND physical! Did I also mention my Lord gave me a boon of his magic?" The Devil taunted.

" _Wall of Flame!"_ A torrent of flame erupted from him, filling the room and towards his angry opponent.

"..." exhaled Asta, wounding his sword. The anti-power flooding from it as Asta started spinning in place, creating a black tornado- no, a black hurricane. The boy began to move, leaving the anti-magic trails behind him, blowing away the fire while shattering the few other animated statues with a flurry of strikes. This piqued Djæraq interest.

"Ha! Of course, you would try to get into striking distance!" The Devil was expecting this, forming a spiked gauntlet of obsidian around his hand to parry the boy's sword. The sword and the gauntlet clashed. The demon cackled as he transmuted his gauntlet, forming barbed tendrils pointed at Asta, ready to strike like coiled snakes.

"And that's checkmate, Better luck next time, but there won't--huh?" Djæraq was caught off guard when Asta pivoted midair, revealing a shortsword in his left hand, already beginning to swing.

' _He has another sword? He must have drew it when he was enveloped in his magic... How many does he-'_ he sent the obsidian tendrils to restrain the second sword, but he couldn't react in time. The Demon-Dweller sliced through his torso, grazing the crystal that housed his essence. The Devil wheezed in pain as he felt his spirit narrowly avoid destruction. Djæraq managed to grab and briefly hurl the devil-possessed boy to the ground before his own body shattered. The crystal containing his essence dropped to the floor, still intact. 

_"...heal..." wheezed_ voice, as if coming from the very walls themselves. Asta got back up and prepared to charge again as the Devil before him quickly, or quite hastily, reformed. 

_"H-How dare you!?"_ said the Devil, losing his collected demeanor, showing raw, unbridled malice. 

_"I will_ **_NOT_ ** _be made a fool! Especially by some random, unknown, rejected misfit!"_ declared Djæraq with a furious anger. He started taking in more power from the conduits embedded in the floor, his body expanding in random, chaotic disproportion. 

"...Transmutation Magic: **_я̴͉̹̌̉α̸̤̏ι̶͇̮͐͝к̶̖̈̑ρ̶̦̽̊ὶ̴̞̜̂v̴̗͈̽ғ̷̫͔̄q̴̩͊υ̴̨̣̇ε̸͉͔̊ℓ̸̟̉ℓ̴̼̃α̷̖̎_ **!!!" Asta, still consumed in his rage, charges at the Devil straight-on, taking flight mere inches from the ground. Like a tectonic plate spewing new earth from a fault, the room began to lengthen considerably as massive amounts of magic are transmuted into matter. Giving berth to many giant accursed spikes and lances across the floor, walls, and ceiling. The warping of the room made Asta, who is running on pure instinct, falter. His premonition barely giving him enough time to avoid a fatal blow from a sharp lance from the ground. The darkish-purple, chitinous metal glancing his left arm, taking a small chunk of his flesh with it. 

"... _ack..."_ cried the enraged boy with an estranged, guttural voice crack. Quickly fumbling onto the ground, Asta dropped his Dweller sword, clattering against the weird stone pavement behind him. As his body came to a halt, he shakingly started to move again, trying to reclaim his dropped weapon. 

"I think not!" shouted the demon. The ground near the sword started to fluctuate like an ocean wave, spewing out a malleable lump of obsidian that hit the ceiling, containing the sword.

"N-N-No...I wi-" Asta gasped, struggling to crawl towards his opponent, he stopped.

_"Oh,_ ** _now_** _you feel like speaking, comrade? Too little too late, you dumb mutt!"_ said the pretentious Devil, for he had bested this nuisance. Asta started to speak as he resumed struggling against the inevitable.

Asta struggled more and more, disturbing his opponent.

".. I..I... **_I'M NOT DONE YET!_ **" shouted Asta at the top of his lungs, startling both his opponent and Leopold, who was fearfully watching the conflict unfold quietly. The bull-headed knight mustered the strength in his arms to snap his head and torso up from the ground. The rest of him followed. He faltered briefly as he tried to instinctively form a stance. Like the calm before the storm, his anti-magic quickly subdued before immediately exploding into a new, previously unachieved level. The anti-magic in the sanctum started to draw towards Asta, forming hazy clouds of his anti-power with a deceiving veracity. Black lightning started to emit and crack from his grimoire, picking up pace and intensity as it began to shine with a blinding red glare. The seemingly ever-present, unwavering black dirt that always covered his grimoire started to slowly peel away. The dirt began to scatter into the violent currents of anti-magic surrounding it like particles of dust in the wind. The Lesser Devil audibly dumbstruck as he witnessed the first time Asta's grimoire was in a condition where its cover could actually be seen.

The cover is a pale blue with golden regalia. The cover is surrounded by ribbon-like filigree that mimics the shape of clover leaves in elegant arabesques. As the ribbons branch up and down, they become like vines. Twisting into crescent shapes and formations similar to ram horns. The top half filigree is in a form similar to the cursive letter 'L' and mirrored to the other side of the cover. The bottom half has the same pattern but, more akin to the letter 'E,' also reflected vertically. Overall the cover looks fancy yet subtle. It seemed noble and ornate without being baroque. 

Or at least it would have seemed noble if the cover itself wasn't darkened as if tainted. It also emanated a piercing, dark, sinister red light. For at the very center of the cover design, noticeable for the very first time...

Was a pitch-black, _five-leaf_ clover insignia...

Great fear flourished through Djæraq as the gravity set in.

_"_ T-T-That's a.. you have a _f-f-ive leaf_ grimoire _..."_ he gasped, steadying his tone to continue.

" A five leaf grimoire!? And of _Elven_ design!? What in the... how'd you... _"_ he stuttered. Obtaining a five-leaf clover grimoire was every Devil's dream, for it meant ascendence into the overworld and cultivation of their true power.

_This isn't good. This Devil has a five-leaf grimoire? But look at him! He absolutely has to be a nobody, a dreg left in the dust! But he has a five-leaf grimoire... Only higher devils have ever been known to be able to obtain one! You'd typically need to have magic on the same caliber as a senior devil to oppose such a grimoire! Not to mention... What is this Devil's magic?_

A second black wing began to bud from Asta's back as he again took flight, charging at his enemy with his sword in hand. He was dragging the Demon-Slayer sword through the obsidian stone floor, creating a trench through all the stone and engravings without slowing down. Anti-magic was condensed around the blade, supplementing and replacing its sharp edges like a thick, black casing.

" **_я̸̞̰͊α̶̮̽̊ι̴̧̘̊̃к̸̢̌ρ̸̧̈̚ϊ̵̝v̷̢̘͆ғ̵̧̔̌q̷͈̙̄υ̸̙͋ε̶͓̤̆ℓ̶̦́ℓ̷͍͐α̴̐͜͠ ̷̳̅ x̸͉̍̾נ̵̞́̒ ̶̡̈́ύ̸̤͚͑s̸̺̐̒x̶̫͔̎̏c̶̱̭͐̏ᾳ̸̱̒!!_ ** " cried the Devil in its weird jargon. The room contorting in size and shape once more. Spikes of that wicked, chitinous otherwordly metal sprang from the floor, bending in all sorts of sharp angles as they homed in on Asta. Desperately trying to catch up to its target as he evaded and evaded. Now all the remaining statues in the sanctum came to life and prepared to attack like zombies. A distorted, reverberating hum filled the air as Asta lifted his sword and slashed through them all. The black anti-magic edges of his rusty blade extended as it cut through the reanimated statues and chitinous spear alike. _No use._ Within seconds, Asta was already upon him, the Devil already mounting one last counter. He positioned and prepared himself to parry the incoming left uppercut from his opponent's blade. 

_No use. It was a fake-out._

The bull-horned knight reached behind to his trailing grimoire with his right arm and pulled out another sword. The Demon-Destroyer sword.

In one swift motion, chucked the sword in front of him and into the Devil's face, stunning him and momentarily obscuring the flow of its malicious magic. The Destroyer sword fell to the floor with a clatter.

_SWOOOSSH!_

With a full-body pivot midair, Asta swiped his Black Divider into the torso of the Lesser Devil.

" _I knew it! He has more!"_

" **_LIKE I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING!!!_ **" he cried, ejecting the top half of his body just like the goo it was made of, his crystallized essence with it. As soon as the sword passed through his body, he reformed. The Devil took his still aft hand and pressured the boy's wrist, making the boy drop the Slayer sword. 

**_"..huh? "_ **

As if on cue, Asta reached behind him with his right hand and arm once again. Suddenly a bolt of black lightning erupted from his grasp, striking across the ceiling across the room. Leopold saw the flash of black lightning hit the Dweller sword. The wad of stone entangling it crumbled as the sword traced the black current and headed toward its master.

" **_WAIT! STOP!_ **" shouted the Devil. He was very, very scared. He could see the black blur that was the Dweller sword approaching way too fast for him to react.

In a mere instant, the Dweller sword, like a magnet, placing itself correctly into the boy's hand. 

_SCH-CLINK!_

All it took was one swift, harmonious movement of his arm to pierce and holster the Devil through their torso. The sword pierced the chest where the Devil's heart should have been, obliterating the crystal containing its essence. 

A multitude of overlapping screams and wails of different tones filled the room as the Devil's body melted back to ooze, the ooze itself starting to boil and evaporate into nothingness. Asta landed lightly on his feet by the puddle of blight covered in crystalline filaments. His swords automatically returning to his grimoire. 

"He's...Dead... Asta did it... Asta killed him." Leopold barely managed to croak those words.

Suddenly, Asta turned around to the sound of Leopold's voice. Without hesitation, Asta started to walk towards the slain spider., it's carcass a moderate distance from Asta's friends.

_"...Asta?"_ piqued Leo. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Part of me can't believe this chapter ended up being longer than the last. The more I wrote, the more I got into it, to which I of course then felt compelled to properly conclude it. I would like to thank everyone for reading, favoriting, and commenting both here and on AO3. When writing this chapter, I hit a bit of a writing snag. I felt like I squeezed all the worth from that giant cursed spider for all its worth, so I needed something else that could also be passable. So I went with a minor, disposable Devil OC even though creating an OC isn't something I initially planned nor wanted to do.
> 
> Again, I only started doing this because I got so bored during the quarantine, I didn't expect for so many people to like it! Thank you!
> 
> The next chapter should come a bit sooner and is likely to be shorter than these previous two chapters. Or maybe it won't, who am I to put a limit on the flow of words and of imagination?
> 
> Again, thanks for reading! :)
> 
> p.s. I also plan on adding this fanfic to fanfiction.net in the next few days.


	7. Inner Machinations

Asta started to open his eyes, only to open them, wide awake abruptly. His eyes were open, but he couldn't see _anything._

 _Where am I?_ he thought, trying to figure it out. All he saw was his own two hands as if he were swimming underwater. _He didn't know how to swim_.

_It's like I'm floating in the middle of a cold, black lake... I can't see anything._ As he gained more mental awareness, he realized what this could be.

 _Hang on. I remember this. Back in the Witches' Forest, right when I tapped into my Anti-magic form for the first time fighting that guy, Ladros. My mind felt so clear then, so why do I feel so detached now? Weird... How did I get here?_ He thought. He couldn't remember the few seconds before he wound up here in this bizarre, black lake. 

_I remember... A Dungeon... An Altar... Fear.. and a giant spider? Oh. There was a fight, Leo, Noelle, and I were fighting against that thing. I wonder what happ-_

"Yo..." said a weird, deep voice. It sounded somewhat familiar to Asta.

" We meet again, runt." it continued. Suddenly Asta felt, or sensed, a giant figure swim up from under him. The figure was _massive_. He somewhat recalled the figured from the Witches Forest as well. It was _him, that guy._

_The Devil in his grimoire. The source of his anti-magic power._

_"What_ do you _want?_ " asked Asta. He had an inkling his grimoire devil could only be up to no good.

"You. Specifically, your body. What else?" responded the Anti-Magic Devil.

_Of course._

"Well, why don't you go ahead and buzz off, then?" Asta retorted, disgusted.

"HA! Come on, man... You know I can't exactly do that. We're stuck together." said the Devil. Asta grunted in response, it was right. 

"Well, can you at _least_ tell me why I am here?" barked the young magic knight.

"Because you needed to use my power _again. Why else?_ " the Devil said smoothly. 

" _Again?_ Yeah, right. This is only the second time you've ever shown your face, _punk ass_. The first time you were a complete pushover."

"Aww. Ouch. Come on, man. What's with the insults? Did I strike a nerve? I haven't insul-"

" _Didn't you open up with calling me a runt just a second ago?"_ interrupted Asta.

" _I..._ Alright, you got me there." Asta's Devil said while snapping his fingers into a finger gun. Or more like his claws. His _giant_ claws. The Devil was surprisingly a bit humble about himself, admitting to when and where he got outwitted.

Asta was no pushover, the tall, black, stalky figure knew that.

"Hey, Kid. You said you don't remember how you got here, right? here, let me show you."

"How did you know? I didn't say tha-" the Devil interrupted Asta, it was now Asta's turn to be outwitted.

"Umm, aren't you forgetting, and didn't I just say it? _We're connected._ Besides, you and I are very much alike." said the Anti-Magic Devil very wittingly.

This rubbed Asta the wrong way. 

"Shut up! I'm nothing like you! All your lot do i-" the Devil interrupted Asta again.

"Hmm... Yeah, sure, kid. Whatever you say. Just shut up and watch." the black, silhouetted figure scoffed.

Asta suddenly found himself standing in an empty abyss. There were no walls, no ceiling, no floor. Nothing. However, for a brief second, he thought he heard something. A voice. Several voices. He heard Leopold's, he Leo call Noelle's name... and the voice of someone else. The last one sounded disorienting as if it was more so cutting the air than actually speaking.

"Wh-What's that? What's happening?" Asta felt like a bit on edge, he knew he heard his friends.

"Never mind that for now." his Devil promptly redirecting the topic. Asta couldn't see it, but he felt like a giant hand blending in perfectly with the void made some sort motion.

The voices stopped. 

"That's better, now where were we? Yeah, jogging your memory." With a snap of his invisible fingers, weird panel-like apparitions displaying what had happened to Asta moments before he woke up in this strange consciousness. 

"Yeah, now I remember this--wait Noe--" He saw it. He remembered. Noelle came to save him from the traps and webbing. It was like she was skating around him, freeing him from his restraints. Then he saw her turn around, eyes widen with fear—that cursed monster about to pierce him like a shishkabob. There was no time for her to properly block. She reached out her arms to pivot around him.

SPLAT

She used her own body as a shield, pushing him away. He saw himself turn around. He saw the blood splatter hit his face. No, he flinched his hand to his face. It felt like the splatter hit his eyes all over again. In a brief glimpse of clarity, he felt all that sadness all over again. The Anti-Devil let out a series of audible, patronizing 'clicks' with his tongue.

"Now _that_ doesn't look good, does it?" Asta reached out, trying to touch what he was seeing, his hand merely went through. He grew frustrated.

" Oh, man. Impalement. Multiple lacerations. Broken ribs. Dislocated arm and shoulder. Heavy bleeding- Oh! It looks like there is some nasty poison, too! I'd give her like what, 10, maybe 20 minutes?" Asta's Devil sassed.

"If you ask me that was pointless, you'll are going to die in a few minutes, anyways. Look who just showed up." with a snap of the Anti-magic Devil's fingers, Asta saw the new Devil appear in front of him and his friends. He saw this Devil reach out his hand in Noelle's and Leopold's direction.

" _NO!!_ " Asta threw himself at the vision. Somewhere beyond his current awareness, he felt his real body spring into action, blocking the lethal shot aimed at his friends.

"Oh, wow! Color me impressed! That right there is one of the reasons why I picked you in the very beginning!" The Anti-Magic Devil sounded excited, even when mostly detached from his physical form. Asta was still able to act through sheer willpower.

" **Why are you doing this to me!?** " Asta yelled at the figure beside and all around him.

"You mean why I am killing this Devil for you? Look, I'm kicking his ass." The Devil showed Asta that 'Asta' was fighting back, before making the vision disappear just as suddenly as it showed up.

" _What can I say, except... You're welcome?_ " cheered Asta's torturer.

Asta was _livid._ He wasn't just thinking about this current Devil asshole toying with him, but the one who toyed with Licht, Nero, Patri, and all the other elves at the Shadow Palace. He recalled when he somehow entered Patri's mind and gagged at all that painful suffering. He recalled Patri's memory of his tribe's massacre when he was just a little elven child, almost as if it was himself. All because that Devil that he killed found it amusing as he tried to step in their world just to cause more amusement like that. 

_"_ You Devils are all _disgusting_." 

" _Excuse me?_ **My** _people are disgusting? Have you looked at yours? Wait, you have because you've used it as justification to chase your silly dream! What about that gross social inequality you sought to uproot from your Kingdom? And you call_ **_us_ ** _devils? Humans can be pretty wicked, too, if not just as much, but you are too stubborn to believe it, among other things..."_

The Anti-Devil verbally tore into Asta. In some perverted, twisted sense, he was correct.

"No! I'm not listening to you! You want me to despair so you can take my body!" he yelled back, this got Asta very angry. _The Anti-magic Devil smirked. Checkmate. He thought. I have an idea._

"Yeah, you are right, I do. I've been trapped for centuries. And you are my ticket out!" the Devil replied. "So give up!" he said.

" _No!_ " Asta promptly refuted. _This little turd really is going to make me do it_. Thought his Devil. He brought back the panel-like visions. He brought back what was really happening. That got Asta's attention.

"Are you sure about that, buddy? Look at the state you are in, Look at that state of her? What was her name? Noelle or something? You do realize what is at stake here, do you? Look at that girl's condition, now look at that orange-haired boy trying to help her. They won't last long. I can tell. I feel my Anti-power becoming less and less interested in this 'Leopold' fellow. His mana is nearing complete exhaustion." the Anti-Devil prepared to continue. 

_Little bugger is going to need some more to seal the deal._ Thought the Anti-Devil. Asta was seething with rage.

"Come on, stop that! Stop trying to act strong, you are stubborn, yes, but when it counts, you are definitely _not stupid_ ." _The Anti-Devil had Asta right where he wanted him._ "They are going to die, _she_ is going to die if you, and by that I mean I, don't do something! You lost! Come on, she just gave her life for you, and that's how you repay her? By wasting it? By wasting your life and hers? And of your friend? Are you sure we aren't alike? Because with all that malice all that selfishness spewing out of you, you sure act like one of _us_ . Take a look." The Anti-Devil showed Asta Asta's reflection. The reflection of his current self. His _real, physical_ person. Asta could hardly believe it.

"Come on! Every time you've channeled my power you've noticed it, you've felt it. The horns... The teeth... The anger, the outright malice. You are one of us, kid, why deny it?"

"Besides, let me show you one last thing. You may not remember this because of that blood magic bitch in that forest, and your pink-haired comrade's fate magic cat--thing," he said.

The Anti-Magic Devil summoned the events of the Witches' Forest. Specifically, when the Witch Queen tried to betray, did betray him and his friends by trying to control his body with her blood magic. All so she could indirectly take possession of his Anti-magic swords. Making Asta nothing more than her weapon.

"You remember this, right?" the demon said. 

"Let me show you what the Witch Queen saw before that magic cat belonging to your friend got in the way..." 

Asta saw how his unconscious body in his black form try to cut Noelle down at the Witch Queen's behest. He saw it succeed. Asta swore he could feel the very sensations of swinging his sword and beheading Noelle, how she struggled beforehand trying to get him to snap out of it. He did remember trying to resist the Witch Queen's blood magic, but ultimately failing. _This was that._

"And then that red cat thing changed it," motioned the Anti-Devil with his hand, making the vivid memory continue. He saw how Vanessa's Rogue changed the outcome of his swing, making him miss Noelle completely. He actually cut her down from her blood scaffold, making Noelle fall to the ground. Asta sighed in relief.

" _Oh, it doesn't end there!_ " said his tormenter. 

Asta saw the Witch Queen commanded him to try again, impaling Noelle in her torso by stabbing like a shovel digging into the ground. He was back to being completely distraught all over again.

"And the Fate magic changed that, too. She also made you try to kill your spatial magic friend! Even if it wasn't you who was in control, those things still happened." Asta's Devil was wearing the biggest grin. "Come on, you know, deep down inside, you enjoyed it. You resent them. You lowkey resent everyone because they have magic, and you don't! You are not their friend, stop lying to yourself!"

"Come on, as I said, you are smart when it matters most. You can tell everything I showed you, all these brisk, relived emotions are all completely genuine. All this is just too good to make up! Heck, and despite all that, that girl just threw herself to protect you! You must have noticed after all that in that Witch Forest, she began to treat you a bit differently for a while, remember?"

Asta was in tears. He couldn't handle this anymore, his Devil seized this moment.

"You see now, kid? All you've done is made them suffer! And now they are going to die in the dungeon very soon! That girl, that boy, and all the others in the dungeon, too."

The Anti-Devil then gave Asta the proposition. "So, let me take over your body! I will admit you definitely have the strongest will of possibly every mortal who has ever existed. Your will is so strong I actually need your consent to take over. So I give you this..."

" _Let me take over, and your two friends here will make it out alive, I promise you that. I will be in the one in charge from now on, I might even loosen your chain if you are lucky. Just give in already!"_

" _Really?"_ asked a defeated Asta. He got a "Yes." in response.

"Fine. _I accept_. " Asta capitulated.

"Splendid! And thanks for finally seeing the voice of reason, you stubborn brat!" said the Devil. Asta found himself back in the black lake, this time, he was drowning. This time, he let himself sink. He hated this place, he hated this Devil of his. He hated _that_ Devil from before. He hated the one currently in this dungeon. He _hated_ this dungeon!

_Then he heard something again. A Voice. They were originating from beyond the lake's surface. He specifically heard Leopold's voice call out_

_"...Asta?"_

"Asta, what _are_ you doing? Stop, _it's already dead!_ " he heard a distorted Leopold's voice bellow from just beyond the surface.

This filled Asta with hope. With a renewed vigor, he started to swim towards the surface of the black lake. Now he thought he could hear not just Leopold's voice but also Yuno's, Sister Lilies, and _Noelle's._

" **_Hey, what are you doing!? We had a deal!_ ** " He heard his grimoire's Devil reverberate from below. He ignored him. Asta continued to swim upwards towards the voices of his friends, his family. Just as he was about to break the surface, he felt some sort of appendage grab his foot and try to drag him down. _So close._

_SPLASH_

Suddenly, a beautiful, pale, and pristine hand broke through the water, grabbing and pulling Asta above the surface, gasping for air. When he came to, he noticed they were floating, or more like repelling, the black water away. Asta's eyes widen when he saw who saved him.

_It was Noelle._

"Hey, Asta." she said. Except it wasn't really her, but a figment of his own imagination. This apparition of Noelle was a bit shiny and somewhat transparent.

"Noelle? How are you- Where is this?" He asked a bit awkwardly.

"It wasn't just you that I heard, is this another one of my Devil's tricks?

"Nope! No tricks and the others are somewhere else, but they're here. What's more important right now is you."

" _Me_? But look at me, these horns. Those people from that trial were right. I'm a Devil..."

_SLAP_

"Ow!" Asta yelped. "That _really_ hurt," he said.

"Well, that's because you said something _really_ stupid..." she retorted. "Are you honestly letting that guy get into your head? Of course, he would play to your emotions, your insecurities. He'd say and do anything and _everything._ I've always said you were that dense, but _Sheesh_ ," she said while flicking a pigtail. "Besides, who thinks you are a Devil? Yami doesn't. Neither does Nozel, Mereleona, Fugeoleon, or the Wizard King himself think you are a devil... _I_ don't think you are a Devil. I never _have_."

The black lake started to bubble beneath their feet as if it were angry. Furious even. Asta looked down as he took notice, but the Noelle in front of him promptly redirected his attention back to her.

"Hey, I _know_ how you are feeling about all of this-"

"You do? I mean, how? This conversation we are having and this whole place is really freaking weird. I mean, you do? Because I sure don't..."

The image of Noelle put her hand on Asta's shoulder and started to chuckle." Asta was in awe because he never seen Noelle give a hearty laugh before. After laughing, her mouth and eyes portrayed a subtle, sly expression of amusement.

"No... Not that. I mean this whole Spade/Devil scenario. Needing to disprove that stupid, phony trial where they tried to scapegoat you when they should have been giving you a medal. Only having 6 months to get strong enough to defeat a Devil far more powerful than the one you previously fought and killed. Not to mention the possibility of there being more Devils than just Megicula in Spade..."

The apparition reached out and grabbed Asta's hand and held it firmly. Asta was taken aback. He noticed her magenta eyes did not falter in the slightest, her gaze unwavering. She did not fidget at all. 

_This is so unlike her._ He thought.

" _Asta... You don't have to do it alone. Ask for help._ Ask _me_ for help. This isn't a fight you have to do _alone_ . Don't put the burden all on yourself. Let us help you fight this... All of us are in this. _Together_."

He didn't know what to say, he tried saying her name but couldn't. What he did feel at that moment was a feeling of safety, of comfort. For just a brief moment, he felt as if all his worries did not matter nearly as much. He didn't feel alone. The apparition held his hand more tightly, pulling it in closer to her. He saw her magenta eyes flutter as she tilted her head, starting to close in on his face. What captivated him was how her eyelashes waved in a satisfying harmony. Without thinking, he shut his eyes, preparing for what happens next.

However, instead, he felt a massive jolt through his mind, body, and soul. He heard a voice. _Her voice calling out to him, h_ owever, faint.

" _...asta._ "

He then heard Leopold's voice, which was much louder and much stronger.

" _Asta._ "

Asta felt another jolt of his senses immediately followed by a creeping headache, his vision blurry.

He was back in the Yultim dungeon. In front of him was Leopold. Along with _Noelle_. She was still on the floor, heavily injured. She mustered up the very last dregs of her strength to join Leopold in getting Asta to snap out of his trance. And it worked. 

Asta stopped walking towards them. The black anti-magic that was covering his body stopped pouring out. His black-covered hand dropped his sword with a clang by his feet. His red eyes, which were emitting a beaming red stain, slowly dimmed back to their original green shade.

The Anti-magic let go of its vice around the boy. Disappearing like a cape caught in the wind. 

"Noe..your... I..." Asta tried speaking. As soon as he took a step, his face met the floor. Still somewhat awake and aware, Asta felt the sanctum and the entire dungeon start to collapse as the heat began to exponentially rise. Chunks of stone began to fall from the ceiling, it started getting hotter. Then out of nowhere, he felt a different kind of flame envelop him, which neither burned nor increased his overall temperature. Instead, it kept him at a modest, much lower heat. It was Leopold.

_Leo... No, don't._

_Just take her and get out of here_. Asta thought.

The last thing he saw was the sanctum entrance had suddenly burst open, followed by a large beam of blinding yellow light. There was a person in said beam of light, but Asta could only see a silhouette. Numerous other people followed suit. Asta wasn't even able to process the familiar faces before falling unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a joy to write. I wanted to make sure it was done correctly. I feel like I'm starting to find my groove with this story. More to come!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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